


Fruits of Labor

by PizzaHorse



Series: Weblena Week 2018 [2]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Adventure, Awkward Crush, Best Friends, Crushes, Developing Friendships, Duck - Freeform, Ducks, Emotions, F/F, Feelings, Feelings Realization, Female Characters, Female Friendship, First Crush, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Secret Crush, Strong Female Characters, Teen Crush, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-02 20:06:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16311866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PizzaHorse/pseuds/PizzaHorse
Summary: When Webby goes on a trip and leaves Lena behind, Lena worries.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Totally rushed this out for Weblena Week, please pardon any errors.

"Where are you going?"

Webby glanced over from where she was stuffing things into a duffle bag. Lena was sitting up in bed, stretching her arms out as she yawned. Webby had hoped she wouldn't wake her, but that was easier said than done when Lena was a light sleeper and they shared a room.

"On a trip with granny."

Lena waited for further explanation, but Webby seemed absorbed in her task. She got like that sometimes, very focused on something, and it was easy to tell because her replies were short and curt. Anyone who didn't know Webby and didn't understand her way of working might think she was being rude by not making conversation, or that maybe she was mad, but Lena knew her better than that.

"Where to?"

"Somewhere."

It wasn't like Webby to not invite her on an adventure. Lena almost always declined, but it felt nice that Webby at least made an effort to include her, and it was nice to know that Webby was going to be gone. Maybe this time Webby didn't bother asking because she assumed Lena wouldn't want to go, which was a fair assumption, but it still felt odd to not be asked when it had become so routine. It was also odd to not be told where she was heading. Webby was an overflowing fountain of information, and was always ready to share the research she'd done about any upcoming trip. Except this time.

"Can I come along?"

The bag was zipped and Webby stood up, turning toward the bed and her friend for the first time. She glanced back down at the duffle, then picked it up and slung it over her shoulder. She looked at Lena, then down at the ground, and looked like she was thinking very hard about something.

"It's just a trip for me and granny, so you can't go."

"Okay."

It didn't really feel okay. If it was just a trip for Webby and Mrs. Beakley, why wouldn't Webby just say where she was going? It was fine that she wasn't being invited, well, not really  _fine_ , but understandable given her previous behavior. But it felt like the location of the trip was a secret, considering she had asked twice, once very specifically, and not gotten an answer.

Come to think of it, Lena couldn't remember any previous trips where she'd specifically been told she  _couldn't_  go. She pulled back the covers and rolled out of bed, watching Webby silently leave with her pack. She wanted to respect her friend's privacy, but it was weird because there usually wasn't anything that Webby kept private or secret. Which just made the situation, and Lena, all the more curious.


	2. Chapter 2

"Did Webby tell you where she was going?" Lena had walked into the kitchen to find the three boys scrounging around for food, as was customary.

A disinterested Louie didn't peek up from the refrigerator. "Webby left?"

"Oh yeah, I did see her packing up the plane with Mrs. Beakley," Huey noted thoughtfully from his spot at the counter. "I would have thought you'd gone with."

"Webby said I  _couldn't_  go."

"Uh oh," that got Louie's attention.

"Uh oh?"

As if their thought process was insync, Dewey called out from the pantry, "It's probably no big deal, but you do live together now. That's like a whole different dynamic from just being best friends. You two are always together. Webby probably just wanted some space."

"If she wanted space, she could have asked for it. The mansion is like, huge."

"Maybe you did something that made her want  _more_  space," Huey pointed out.

"Shut up!" Louie backed away from the fridge, his arms full of assorted bottles, jars, and packages. "But, you might have."

"Why wouldn't Webby just tell me what I did?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing, and three pairs of eyes looked at her skeptically for a long moment, like nobody could believe what they'd just heard. Huey spoke up first. "Because she wouldn't  _dare_  upset you."

Louie dropped everything in his arms on the counter in front of Huey and kicked the refrigerator closed. "Aside from the fact that she thinks the world of you, she knows about everything you've been through and how awful your life was. She'd rather suffer in silence than say anything bad about, or to, you."

"But Webby trusts me, she should know that-"

Dewey stepped out of the pantry, munching on a bag of chips as he shook his head and rolled his eyes. "If you haven't told her, she doesn't know that she can talk to you if she's upset. You of all people should know better than to assume Webby knows something if no one's told her. She's not great at inferring things,  _you_  should know  _that_."

They all had good points. Lena went about searching for her own breakfast meal of sorts, all the while considering exactly what could have made Webby so distressed as to leave entirely. She thought about all the times she'd borrowed something from her without asking, like clothes or books or random trinkets she thought were cool. Sometimes she stole her favorite things off of Webby's breakfast plate, and laughed like it was some kind of game, but when she thought about it, Webby had never  _ever_  taken anything from her.

So there was definitely a combination- or more like a culmination- of things that could be the answer.

It was different, finally having someone care for her, and maybe she was trying to make up for lost time of not being cared for at all, but maybe in doing so she'd been a bad friend. Maybe all she'd done was take and take from her friend, and not give anything back. Maybe Webby was tired of it.

Maybe she could still fix things.

Breakfast forgotten, Lena set about returning everything she'd borrowed, which didn't really take long since they shared a bedroom and it was more a matter of moving things from her draws and shelves back to Webby's. It didn't feel like enough, not when more and more situations in which she'd been selfish kept piling into her head and weighing down her conscious.

Lena decided to try combing the beach for weird rocks or shells or even bones. She could do it every day until Webby got back, and have a whole collection of neat things. It wouldn't be enough, Lena wasn't sure exactly  _what_  kind of action would be enough, but this gesture was a start. And as soon as Webby returned, Lena planned to actually ask what she could do to make things up to her.


	3. Chapter 3

The sound of a plane flying overhead roused Lena from a deep sleep. She'd counted every day that Webby had been gone, and today marked just over two weeks. Half a month. After a week she'd grown worried, so she'd asked Uncle Scrooge to contact them. While he was happy to oblige, even he wouldn't reveal where they had gone off too.

She stashed the box of beach trinkets under her bed, hoping to surprise Webby later. If Webby wanted to talk to her at all. For all Lena knew, she was still upset with her. Her stomach twisted in knots as she tried to think of what to say, and debated on whether or not to greet Webby warmly or hang back and give her space. She so badly wanted to run right out to the loading dock and hug her friend the minute she got off the plane, but she wasn't sure Webby even wanted to see her right now.

So she took her time getting ready, and by the time she made her way down the hall, Lena could hear everyone in the kitchen, excited voices drifting from the room. It sounded like Webby had been on an adventure, and not just some simple vacation away from home.

Lena attempted to be sly as she sidled into the doorway and leaned against the frame, hoping to catch snippets about wherever Webby and Mrs. Beakley had gone, but of course her presence couldn't go unnoticed by the young Vanderquack. Sometimes it felt like she had a sixth sense for when Lena was near, which was actually entirely possible considering the connection they shared even after Lena stopped being her shadow.

"Lena!" Webby called out happily as she grabbed a mesh bag from the counter, running over.

Well, she didn't seem agitated, at least. That was encouraging. Maybe the trip  _had_  done her some good. Maybe it had done both of them some good, since Lena had made some self discoveries of her own.

As Webby approached, Lena could smell what was in the bag before she even saw it. Her mouth subconsciously started to water as she forgot every apology she'd planned to make to her friend and asked, "What is that?"

"They're apricots! From Mount Vesuvius!" Webby held the bag open, and there, looking back at her, were several dozen small pieces of fruit.

" _Where_  did you get those?!"

"From… Mount Vesuvius?"

"B-But  _how_?"

"That's where granny and I went. They're for you. I wanted them to be a surprise."

So Webby didn't go away because she was upset, after all. She'd flown thousands of miles away so she could do something nice for Lena. Unbelievable. For one, Lena had been worried for nothing (although the boys hadn't helped either), and for two, this was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her,  _ever_ , and Webby treated it like it was as easy as taking a walk in the park.

"How did you know?"

"Don't you remember 2 months ago when you bit into that apricot but spit it out and then mentioned the apricots from Mount Vesuvius where you grew up, and said they were probably the only thing about your past that you missed, and that no other fruit could compare and you hadn't had a Vesuvian Apricot in years?"

"Webby, I barely remember what I eat for breakfast."

"Well, turns out the growing season is super short, but there was just enough time to plan a trip and help with the harvest! There's also some candied apricots, jam, syrup, and dried fruit back in the plane. Uncle Scrooge was able to get in contact with some farmers and ordered as much as he could right before the harvest started, so the locals could prepare some extra for us to pick up. The fresh fruit won't keep for very long, but the preserved ones will."

"You did this for me?"

"Sorry, fruit really isn't all that impressive of a surprise, but you said you liked them so I thought-"

Lena practically leapt forward, wrapping Webby in the biggest hug she'd ever given anyone. Full body, she picked her up and squeezed her so tightly Webby couldn't breath, but it was such a wonderful feeling that she didn't care. There was really nothing Lena could do or say to express her full gratitude. Nothing she could do but hold Webby in her arms and  _desperately_  try not to cry in front of everyone.

The mix of pleasure from her past combined with the comfort of her future made Lena feel whole. It was a part of her she didn't even know she was missing. One of her earliest memories, one of the only times she'd felt happy in her past life, came full circle to join with her current and assuredly far better existence. She had everything she could ever ask for, and even more. Because she never would have thought to ask for this, and yet, Webby knew her even better than she knew herself.

It was nice, the nicest thing, in fact, to have someone looking out for her. And not just looking out for her, but going above and beyond to ensure her happiness. Even when Lena used to imagine being free, she never would have dreamed about living in a mansion, being surrounded by family and a friend who cared so much, and she especially didn't expect to have someone as special as Webby in her life.

"Are you okay?" Webby finally asked, because Lena was not normally a hugger and she had been hugging for far longer than usual.

"Better. Better than okay. The best," Lena broke away and swallowed the lump in her throat. "I don't know what to say. You-  _you_  are the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I'm so glad I met you, and I-I-I love you," she gently pecked Webby on the forehead.

Webby's eyes went wide, almost panicked looking, and she turned away, blushing furiously. She curled one hand into a fist and pressed it against her beak. It looked like she was struggling to breath. She thrust out her other hand, which was still holding the bag of fruit, in Lena's direction. "Here!"

As soon as Lena took the bag from her hands, Webby sprinted towards the door, hurriedly calling over her shoulder, "Iamgoingtohelpunloadtheplaneseeyoulater!"

Lena sat down on the floor, even though there were perfectly good chairs nearby, because that was just her way. Plus, she wasn't sure she could move anymore. So much had just happened that she was still trying to process. She picked out a piece of fruit from the bag, knowing that she was going to eat as many as she could until she was sick. It was sacrilege to wash them; they were better fresh and natural. She bit into the apricot, slowly savoring every bit of it. It tasted like home.  _Home_  home, not on some mountaintop, but right here, on this tile floor, among people who genuinely cared for her.

Even though Magica had been gone for months, Lena had struggled to feel safe, and all the security at McDuck Manor couldn't help to ease her mind. But this, knowing the lengths that Webby, and probably the others as well, would go for her, just to make her happy and comfortable, allowed her to finally relax. Maybe it was just the familiarly of something she thought she'd lost, even though it was so simple, that brought her true contentment.

It didn't matter what she'd lost, because she'd gained so much more. She knew that now. All the Vesuvian Apricots in the world couldn't replace what Webby had given her. A home, a new lease on life, and so so much more. She was more than just a best friend, Lena realized. So, so much more.

Maybe the real adventure wasn't about traveling the world with Webby and Uncle Scrooge and the others. Maybe the real adventure was spending the rest of their lives together. And maybe, for the both of them, that adventure had just begun.


End file.
